This invention relates to a refrigerant processing and charging system. More particularly, this invention relates to a system which is of the type described and operable in a self-heat exchanging system.
A refrigerant, such as a fluorocarbon refrigerant, is commonly employed in an air conditioner of an automobile or a refrigerator.
A refrigeration system will operate most efficiently when the refrigerant is made pure and relatively free of pollutants, for example, oil, air and water. But, a used refrigerant becomes impure by pollutants.
Therefore, it is necessary to periodically remove and recharge the refrigerant within the refrigerant system.
Various refrigerant processing and charging system are already known. In the Miyata et al article, a citation is made as regards refrigerant charging system of the type disclosed in Japanese Patent Prepublication (Kookai) No. 251767 of 1988.
Such a refrigerant charging system comprises a liquefying unit which liquefies an object refrigerant into a liquefied object refrigerant in a liquefication vessel by use of an evaporator included in an external freezing circuit or refrigeration circuit. The liquefied object refrigerant is dropped from the liquefication vessel into a storage container by gravitational force, and is thereby charged to the storage container. The object refrigerant is produced from an original refrigerant which is employed in, for example, an air conditioning system. The evaporator, however, is operated by an external freezing circuit. This causes a problem because of the inevitable need for the use of an external freezing circuit to liquefy the object refrigerant.
In addition, it is assumed that the liquefied object refrigerant is not smoothly charged to the storage container until the liquefied object refrigerant is fully accumulated in the liquefication vessel.